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January 09, 2013

For mothers (or fathers) who also want to write

In The Writer magazine, novelist Diana Abu-Jabar (“Arabian Jazz,”
“Crescent”) describes how her writing schedule changed when she had a child:

“I used to be fairly methodical, get up, go straight to my
desk and try to get in a few hours of work before breakfast. The rest of the
day I might have spent on revisions, transcribing or related correspondence. I
write all my drafts longhand.

After my daughter was born, all that changed. Now I get up
with her and our day begins together. My work lives and dies by the babysitter,
who comes daily, Monday through Friday. At first I was afraid I wouldn’t have
time to raise a child and conduct a writing life, but I find that all it takes
is adaptation, perseverance, and babysitters.”

Now, you may be thinking, “Yes, and the money to hire a baby-sitter to show up daily.”

However, there are other ways to do it. For instance, you
may be able to barter baby-sitting with another parent who wants time to
pursue their passion.

Or if you have a spare room you might be able to swap room and board for the babysitting services of a student.

Or you may have valuable skills you can employ on a free-lance basis via web services
like HireMyMom.com or elance.com.

Good luck and if you have any other suggestions for how to
have a writing practice and kids at the same time, feel free to share them in
the comments.

(If you want some great ideas for using your time more productively, you'll find them in my book, "Focus: Use the power of targeted thinking to get more done." It's published by Pearson and you can get it from Amazon or your other favorite bookseller.)

Comments

For mothers (or fathers) who also want to write

In The Writer magazine, novelist Diana Abu-Jabar (“Arabian Jazz,”
“Crescent”) describes how her writing schedule changed when she had a child:

“I used to be fairly methodical, get up, go straight to my
desk and try to get in a few hours of work before breakfast. The rest of the
day I might have spent on revisions, transcribing or related correspondence. I
write all my drafts longhand.

After my daughter was born, all that changed. Now I get up
with her and our day begins together. My work lives and dies by the babysitter,
who comes daily, Monday through Friday. At first I was afraid I wouldn’t have
time to raise a child and conduct a writing life, but I find that all it takes
is adaptation, perseverance, and babysitters.”

Now, you may be thinking, “Yes, and the money to hire a baby-sitter to show up daily.”

However, there are other ways to do it. For instance, you
may be able to barter baby-sitting with another parent who wants time to
pursue their passion.

Or if you have a spare room you might be able to swap room and board for the babysitting services of a student.

Or you may have valuable skills you can employ on a free-lance basis via web services
like HireMyMom.com or elance.com.

Good luck and if you have any other suggestions for how to
have a writing practice and kids at the same time, feel free to share them in
the comments.

(If you want some great ideas for using your time more productively, you'll find them in my book, "Focus: Use the power of targeted thinking to get more done." It's published by Pearson and you can get it from Amazon or your other favorite bookseller.)